Gasket for Face Mask

ABSTRACT

An improvement to a face mask which prevents warm water vapor from the mask wearer&#39;s breath from traveling up toward the eyes and fogging transparent glasses, face shield or other eye coverings. A piece of neoprene or other airtight material attached to the top edge of the face mask, over the bridge of the nose, fits snugly and functions as a gasket to prevent air flow of exhaled breath from traveling towards the wearer&#39;s eyes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of face masks and other coveringswhich cover the nose and mouth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Face masks are ubiquitous in this time of COVID-19. Medicalprofessionals have long worn them to protect themselves from their sickpatients, as well as to protect their patients from the medicalprofessional's germs. Today most people wear some type of face mask whengoing out in public. The masks are made of many different materials. Allcover the nose and mouth, and some also shield the eyes.

For most people today, the purpose of wearing a face mask is to preventviruses from travelling either into the wearer's nose or mouth from thesurrounding environment, as well as out into the surrounding environmentfrom the wearer's nose and mouth.

Before COVID-19, more common reasons to wear a face mask were to preventbreathing in particles such as sawdust. Face masks also exist to keepthe wearer's face warm in extreme cold, and to restrict air flow forathletes, mimicking high altitude training.

A long standing problem exists when a nose and mouth covering is worn atthe same time as glasses or other transparent eye coverings—if thebreath travels up to the glasses, especially in cold temperatures, itfogs the glasses so that the wearer's vision is impaired.

Several strategies exist to combat this fogging problem, such asanti-fogging coatings for glasses and goggles, and mechanisms toencourage the breath to travel in another direction away from the eyes.

Many dust masks have an aluminum nose strip which attempt to fit themask snugly against the bridge of the nose. This can help improve fitfor some nose shapes, but doesn't improve fit for everyone, and doesn'tusually make the top of the mask airtight.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,181, Anti-Fog Face Mask, by Baumann et al., includesa sticky strip along the top edge of the face mask, which adheres thetop of the mask to the cheeks and bridge of the nose, with the intent toprevent air flow.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,061, Disposable Aerosol Mask, by Brunson, indicatesthat a tight fit is desirable for a face mask.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,545, Face Mask with Anti-Fog Folding, by Kleman etal., utilizes special folds in the multi-layer body portion of the mask,to attempt to direct the flow of breath away from the wearer's eyes.This reference mentions an anti-fog strip along the top of the mask,referring to that described by Baumann.

Many face mask patents concentrate on preventing liquids andparticulates from traveling through the body of the mask, rather thanaround the edges.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an improvement to existing face masks which fitsnugly to the face, at least on the top edge of the mask. A gasket madeof a rectangular piece of neoprene material is sewn or otherwiseattached to the top edge of the mask, on the side of the mask whichcontacts the face, such that the gasket extends down toward the nose andmouth when the mask is not being worn. In the process of putting on themask, the wearer flips the gasket upward toward their eyes. The maskfits tightly enough, and the gasket resists being folded, such that theentire length of the gasket presses snugly against the bridge of thenose and cheeks, acting as a seal and preventing water vapor from thebreath from escaping past the top edge of the mask.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the inside surface of a pleated face mask which would touchand cover the face, with the gasket attached.

FIG. 2 shows the inside surface of a pleated face mask which would touchand cover the face, with the wearer's fingers folding the gasket upward.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a person wearing the pleated face mask ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a person wearing the pleated face mask ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 shows the gasket before it is attached to a face mask.

FIG. 6 shows the inside surface of a shaped face mask which would touchand cover the wearer's face, with the gasket attached.

FIG. 7 shows the inside surface of a N95 face mask made of polypropylenefibers, with the gasket attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Anyone who has gone skiing in the cold weather with a scarf covering thenose and mouth, along with goggles or glasses, is aware of the foggingproblem that this invention fixes. Any mouth and nose covering whichallows the breath to escape from its top edge can cause fogging onglasses or other transparent eye coverings, so that the wearer can't seevery well or at all.

Existing masks, when worn to prevent inhalation or escape of theCOVID-19 virus, prevent particulates like tiny virus-laden waterdroplets from passing through the body of the mask. These viruses anddroplets are larger than the gas molecules that make up the breath.Oxygen and carbon dioxide gas and water vapor are intended to pass rightthrough a face mask, but the breath will inevitably travel through thepath of least resistance, which may be the edge of the mask if the maskdoesn't fit tightly.

The present invention is a gasket that prevents water vapor or any gasfrom escaping upward past the top edge of a face mask. The invention isan improvement to any face mask which covers the nose and mouth, and ismade of flexible material such as paper, fibers, cloth, nylon, orpolypropylene. The upper edge of the face mask must fit snugly againstthe cheeks and bridge of the wearer's nose. The body of the face maskshould not be made of perforated fabric, because the warm humid breathpasses straight through perforated fabric too easily, and can travel uptowards glasses or other eye coverings, causing fog that obscuresvision.

Many existing masks do not fit snugly enough along the top edge. Somedust masks have an aluminum nose piece which is a small bendable stripwhich can be pinched across the bridge of the nose. While this nosepiece is helpful in improving fit for some nose shapes and sizes, itdoesn't work for everyone, may not provide a seal even with a perfectfit, and can be uncomfortable.

The improvement is a gasket which consists of a generally rectangularpiece, shown in FIG. 5, of neoprene or other synthetic rubber orsilicone, or of any flexible material which does not allow air to passthrough it. The gasket is preferably 1 inch wide, but can be narrower,or wider to extend up towards the eyes and fit under the bottom edge ofthe wearer's glasses. The length of the gasket is a little bit shorterthan the top edge of the mask where it is installed, and long enough soas to extend approximately from the outer edge of one eye to the outeredge of the other eye when installed on the mask and worn on the face.

In a preferred embodiment, neoprene of thickness 1 ml to 1.5 ml workswell. This range of thickness is thick enough to provide sturdiness andprevent airflow through the gasket. It is not too thick, so is flexibleand fits tightly against the contour of the face and bridge of the nose,and also doesn't push the glasses away from the face too much or changethe position of the glasses too much.

The gasket, 1, is sewn or otherwise attached to the top edge of a facemask, 2, as shown in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7. The top edge of the gasket ispositioned level with the top edge of the mask, against the insidesurface of the mask which contacts with the wearer's face. The top edgeof the gasket may be sewn directly along the top edge of the mask, andthe edges may be covered with a binding, 3, or not. The approximately 1inch width of the gasket extends down in the direction of the bottom ofthe mask, towards where the wearer's nose and chin would be. Thematerial of the gasket is not folded when installed on the mask. Thelength of the gasket follows the contour and shape, if any, of the topedge of the mask. The gasket can be just as easily attached to a maskwith a straight top edge as to a mask with a curved or contoured topedge.

When putting on the mask with the gasket, the wearer folds the gasketupward so that it extends above the top edge of the face mask, as shownin FIG. 2. The surface of the gasket which was facing the inside of themask is now facing the wearer's face. The wearer puts on the mask,making sure that the gasket continues to extend above the top edge ofthe mask, and that the gasket fits snugly against the wearer's cheeksand bridge of the nose, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The gasket resiststhe fold, and naturally presses against the face, acting as a seal. Ifthe face mask fits snugly against wearer's face along the top edge ofthe mask, then the gasket seals effectively and is air tight, so that noair or gas travels in or out of the face mask along its top edge.

If the wearer is wearing eyeglasses, the gasket may fit between thewearer's glasses and face, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Alternatively, thegasket may lay completely or partially below the bottom of the glasses.Alternatively, the wearer may instead or in addition wear a face shieldor goggles of any kind.

The face mask may attach to the wearer's head using any method, such aselastic ear loops, 4, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, or withelastic that fits around the back of the head, as shown in FIG. 7, orwith strings which tie around the back of the head, or with hook andloop closures, or any other method.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is a rectangular piece ofneoprene material, between 1 and 1.5 ml thick, 1 inch wide, and severalinches long, the length corresponding to the length of the top edge of aface mask, minus an inch or two. The top edge of the gasket is sewn tothe top edge of the face mask, and both top edges are covered with athin binding. The face mask may be made of paper, or nylon, or multiplelayers of fabric, or polypropylene.

The gasket need not be perfectly rectangular, and may instead begenerally trapezoidal or have rounded corners. The gasket may be made ofneoprene, or any other flexible material which is airtight, such assynthetic rubber, silicone, or cloth or paper which is coated withplastic or other sealing material. The gasket may be sticky and adhereto the face. The thickness of the gasket must be appropriate to allowthe right amount of flexibility such that the gasket follows thecontours of the cheeks and bridge of the nose, without being so thickthat it causes glasses to be too far away from the eyes.

The gasket's width may be somewhat less than one inch, for example ½inch, though at least one inch is recommended to ensure a seal. Thegasket may be wider to fit people with a larger face, for example 2inches or more, so that the gasket extends up underneath the bottom edgeof glasses.

The gasket may be sewn, or glued, or melted, or sonic welded, orotherwise permanently attached to the top edge of the face mask, so longas it can be folded up, generating resistance, in order to contact theface properly. Use of a binding is not necessary for the invention towork, as shown in FIG. 7.

1. An improvement to a face mask, comprising a generally rectangularpiece of airtight flexible material, having a length, a width, athickness, and a top edge along its length; wherein said face mask isintended to cover a person's mouth and nose, and wherein said face maskhas a top edge which is intended to be placed under a wearer's eyes, andwhich top edge is intended to rest on a person's nose bridge and uppercheeks; and wherein said top edge of said piece of material is attachedto said top edge of said face mask along the full length of the top edgeof the piece of material, such that said piece of material extends belowthe top edge of the face mask, and only extends above the top edge ofthe face mask when said piece of material is intentionally foldedupwards, so as to rest on a wearer's nose bridge and upper cheeks abovesaid top edge of said face mask; and wherein said piece of materialresists being folded upwards, such that it naturally presses against thenose bridge and upper cheeks of a mask wearer.
 2. The improvement ofclaim 1, wherein said width of said piece of material is between ½ inchand 2 inches.
 3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said piece ofmaterial is made of neoprene.
 4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein thethickness of said neoprene piece of material is between 1 and 1.5millimeters.
 5. The improvement of claim 1, further comprising a bindingwhich extends along and covers and is attached to both said top edges ofsaid piece of material and said face mask.